Dearly Beloved
by amaryllian-dra
Summary: After her husband died, Allen was offered a place in Hogwarts to teach. How will her presence affected the wizarding world and Harry in particular?
1. Prologue

**DEARLY BELOVED.**

**Warning: female-Allen (Eileen now), a bit of SLASH for side pairings, lots of angst. Harry/Eileen…maybe.**

**Summary: After her husband died, Eileen was offered a place in Hogwarts to teach. How will her presence affected the magical world and Harry in particular?**

**Please enjoy!**

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**...**

"…Eileen?" he croaked to his wife, who tightened the grip on his limp hand in return. He opened his cobalt eyes and saw her sitting beside him, one hand was holding his hand, and one was caressing his hair with the gentleness that he was so familiar with. He saw his wife smiled softly, even though her eyes were bloodshot. He knew Eileen was fighting the tears that threatened her to fall despite her best efforts.

"Ssh, shh, it's okay. Don't speak anymore, okay?" The white haired woman whispered to him. Her hand trembled badly, and he was desperate to soothe his wife's pain. But he knew he couldn't. The last lotus petal in his hourglass fell down an hour ago; he knew he was dying and nothing could help him. He knew Eileen was blaming herself again for not being able to stop it, but they had tried everything they could think of, and nothing was working.

"I love you." He whispered to the woman, his voice soft. He could feel Eileen's hand jumped on his grip, and he couldn't stop the slight curl of his lips at that. His eyelids were heavy. He could hear his wife's soft tinkling laugh on his ears, and he felt his lips stretched into a small smile at the comforting sound. He opened one eye then, and saw his Eileen crying tears, but the laugh was still on her lips.

Eileen smiled at him and kissed his lips. It was a chaste kiss, but he could feel the emotions that Eileen gave into the kiss. Love, affection, sadness, pain… acceptance. He could practically feel her heart aching… and it hurt him to know that he had caused the woman he loved so much pain.

"I know," Eileen whispered back to him, and silence reign between them as no words could describe how they both felt. "I love you too, Yuu." Eileen then said with a wavering voice.

He closed his eyes again, the smile still on his lips. "I know."

"I'll see you off to the very end." He heard Eileen said to him. He felt a dull ache on his chest as he heard the words slipped from her lips; a line he had once said to Alma when he was about to die too, a long time ago. He felt his body weakening even more. Eileen kissed his forehead lovingly, and sang in a lulling voice;

"I love you,"

"I love you,"

"I love you,"

_Eileen…_

"Forever…"She sang softly… and then he knew no more.

**...**

**...**

**Prologue,  
>A Woman With the Snow White Hair.<strong>

**...**

**...**

Upon a hill under a shady tree sat a monument of stone in the form of a pillar. It was made of black marble, with an intricate design of the Black Order's cross on the top of the memorial, was words inscribed in golden colour;

Sleep now,

And take your rest.

†

_Kanda Yuu_

_June 6, 1867—November20 , 1994_

A young girl, looking like she was of the age of sixteen was sitting in front of it. Her long hair, straight but wavy on the end was the color of winter's snows. The grave, surrounded by a small garden of pure white lilies, was glowing with a beautiful orange tint from the light the setting sun was basking them in. Such a sad sight, but oddly enough, by some means it soothe the hearts of the few people who just happened to pass the area.

The girl was wearing a mourning dress that looks like it was from the early nineteenth century. Old fashioned, but somehow it looks like it was made especially for her. St Mary's Church in Harrow on the Hill's cemetery was very cold that early evening, but the girl looked content sitting in the cold ground there, just gazing the grave in front of her with an unreadable expression betraying what she was feeling at her heart.

An old man wearing a weird blue robes appeared suddenly with a soft pop, landing a few feet behind her. The girl did not look around, but she was aware that someone was there with her. The old man's face looked so old then; so sad. He too was feeling what the girl was feeling right now. Sorrow. Despair. Hopelessness. So much sadness that his heart feel like going to burst. He placed a wrinkled hand on her left shoulder so softly, but she didn't respond to his touch. They continued to mourn in silence with the old man standing behind her back, silently giving her his support. Finally, after a long bout of silence, the girl spoke up, her voice soft and trembling:

"It's hard to believe… that he's not going back, you know?"

She let out a shaky breath, and her eyes watered a little. The old man stayed silent, waiting for her to finish pouring her heart out to him.

"We've been together for so long… so long, that I truly believe that… that we're going to be together forever," she brought up her right hand to wipe the moist in her eyes. A painful smile was on her lips as she continued, "And then suddenly he was gone, just like that… I… I loved him so much, yet… yet I can do nothing to save him."

The hand on her shoulder tightened.

"But do you know the worst part of it, Albus?" The girl continues as she looked up and turned her face so that it was facing him. "The worst part is… that I know I could not go after him. Not now…not ever."

She put her arms around him, and wept.

Albus, the old man, crouched down and gathered her in his arms and let her cry her heart out on his chest. It was the only thing he could do to comfort the mournful woman in his arms. He too had lost many friends, lovers, and family over the years he had been alive, but he could not claim the he understood what she was going through right now. Nobody could understand her.

Nobody.

**...**

**...**

**End Prologue.**

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**...**

**So what do you think? Good or bad? This is only a prologue, so it's a bit short. I'll try to make the actual chapter longer than this, but I can't promise anything. This is my first time writing something like this ever, so please be gentle with me! I have no beta so my grammatical errors may happen quite often in the future too. Forgive me, but I'm trying my best. English is not my primary language. **

**You can give me your opinions, suggestions, and maybe correction for the mistakes I made in this chapter. Constructive criticism is welcome! Thank you for reading, and see you in the next chapter!**

—**Adriane.**


	2. Chapter 1

**DEARLY BELOVED.**

**Thank you so much for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites! I'm very happy to have received such good response from all of you! This chapter's not very long, but at least it's longer than the previous one!**

**Here's Chapter One! Please enjoy!**

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**Chapter One,**

**How He Met Her.**

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…

Albus walked down the road that decorated this White City inside the Ark that was Eileen's home. As he carried her in his arms, he gently hummed a song that he had heard so long ago, when he was nothing but a child. He smiled when he realized that the sound of his voice seemed to calm the young woman a bit.

He walked down the small path across a garden of white colored flowers and stopped in front of a big house with tall wooden fence. As he raised a hand to open them, they parted on their own. He looked down to find Eileen almost asleep at his arms. The smile on his lips turned sad when he realized how she looked so small and delicate when she was like this.

Fifty-five years ago, Albus Dumbledore was just a Transfiguration Professor (and Deputy Headmaster) at Hogwarts looking for a replacement for the post of Potions Professor for Hogwarts as the old Professor Williander, who was formerly the Potions Professor for First until Fifth Years, had sent the Headmaster a letter informing him that he couldn't come back this year because of a family problem. But that was two days ago, and September 1st was in three days, so in his desperation to find a replacement before school term started he had resort to sticking flyers to the walls of the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley. After all, it was a place which was frequently filled with people from various places.

It was then when he was looking for a strategic place to stick the flyer on Diagon Alley that something—or rather someone—caught his eyes.

It was a young girl, Albus noted. It was a young girl wearing a sky blue Victorian style dress that revealed a bit of her shoulders and some cleavage, but were still decent to be worn by a respectable pureblooded lady of high standing. Alas, it was not her clothes that had drew him to her. Maybe it was her long white hair that made her look like some kind of divine being, and the powerful aura that surrounds her like a cloak that drew his eyes to her being, but he couldn't be too sure. She just has this… air that made her stand out from the crowd.

When he could finally avert his eyes from her, he noticed the old man with a scowling grumpy face that accompanied her. For a moment, Albus thought it was a bit unusual—maybe even strange—to see a fifty year old man and a girl who looked barely fifteen arms in arms with each other as they browsed through the street of Diagon Alley—like they were a pair of lovers.

It was strange, yes, but the radiant smile that was on the girl's face and the warm glint on the man's eyes when he gazed at the girl was all that he need to see to know that they were made for each other. They were a rare couple in the magical world—one with a pure love between them, no matter what their age, race, or status in this prejudice filled world. Yes, Albus knew just from a glance that the man was a muggle—while he knew the girl must be a pureblood to be able to have magical aura that powerful.

The girl then pointed to a wall near him. Albus looked around and realized that she was pointing at one of the flyers that he had stick before.

"Yuu, look!" said the girl, her face shining like a jewel under the sunshine that even Albus, who preferred his own gender, was drawn to this beauty like he had never been before. Though to be fair it was not an 'attraction' like he wanted to bed her; it was more like an 'admiration' mixed with adoration.

"Look! It's a job vacancy… for the teaching position at Hogwarts?" the girl gasped out loud as she read the details of the job's requirement. She turned toward her companion with a kicked puppy expression was on her face. Watching the stern expression on her companion's face faltered amused him. It was obvious to Albus that this man would give the world for her should the girl asked for it.

"Please? You know that I wanted to be a teacher since _forever_, and you've seen the results of my OWLs and NEWTs! I got an O+ in both for Potions!" said the girl quickly. Albus's eyebrows rose in surprise. The girl had passed her NEWTs with such excellent grades? But she was so young!

"Please, Yuu? I'll persuade the Headmaster to allow you and Road to live with me in there! I want this!" The girl pleaded. When her companion stayed strong, she used 'the pouting' to weaken him.

Seeing this, the other man sighed, faking an annoyed expression before he replied the girl. "Alright, alright. Fine. But only because we need the money, alright? Damn that bottomless pit of yours." The rough-looking muggle grunted at her, making the girl giggled at him. Albus had to stifle a smile. He knew the man was only putting up a front; their clothes looks like they were made of expensive materials—the best money could buy—so they couldn't be lacking money at all.

Before he realized it, words had left his mouth.

"Would you be interested in taking the job, young lady?"

And that was that, his first meeting with Eileen.

Eileen had been excited that she met him in a place like that, and even though Yuu-chan, her companion—and later he found out, husband—had been a bit suspicious of him in the beginning, the older man had warmed up to him after a few days. Later, Eileen told him the reason why her husband warmed up to him so fast was because he had reminded Yuu-chan of his 'father', despite the fact that he in fact was younger. Hearing this, Albus couldn't help but tease the man a bit by calling him his least preferred 'nickname', Yuu-_chan, _when previously he called the older man Kanda-san.

When Yuu-chan found out the reason about the sudden name change later, the older man had tried to slice him up with his Mugen, but fortunately Eileen had stopped him before it really happened. _Thank_ goodness. Albus was very fond of the couple though, despite the troubles that loved to chase them around and Yuu-chan's temper over the smallest things. Over the years they'd been teaching together, the two of them had been like a family to him.

When he found out that Eileen was actually older than him—and that Yuu-chan was actually only two years older than Eileen, he had been shocked. Eileen had told him that their appearance was because of a curse. He found out the truth later though.

In a way, having a Noah gene on her blood was a curse, though if she would see it in another perspective, it could also be a blessing to her. 'The Earl' was a name associated with her by most of the Magical Ministries in the world. She was classified as a dangerous, but non-aggressive creature. They made her sound like an animal, and it made both his and Yuu-chan's blood boil. Anyone who bothered to get to know her will know that she was a very kind individual. Yuu-chan was another matter. He was, although a normal muggle, was born from an obscure experiments done by a bunch of scientists of the Black Order—that was supposed to be a religious organization—in purpose of creating an unbeatable living weapon.

"All of it… for a war that should not exist to begin with," he remembered Eileen had said to him one night, her voice full of bitterness.

Her words struck Albus like a bullet in his heart. He had just realized that despite having special powers, they too were just human like him. Eileen wasn't some powerful and immortal goddess, and Yuu-chan wasn't just a special human who were chosen to have some special powers. Surely if they have a choice, they would surely choose to be born as normal people. No magic, no special powers, just… two people who wished to live with the person they loved.

He felt guilty that he had envied her power before and that he wished he was born with a power like Yuu-chan, because it would make him unbeatable in dueling should the 'time' came. He felt like an ungrateful child wishing for better life when he already had the best.

But Eileen… she just smiled at him reassuringly, as if knowing what he was thinking and it was her way of telling him that it was okay and that he didn't need to torment himself because of it. He was just a human too after all, and being envious was just something that came with being human.

He was very glad that he had her by his side.

She was always supporting him, along with her husband. When Gellert—the man who still owned his heart despite all the horrible things the man had done to him, his family, and the world—attacked London in 1945, Eileen and Yuu-chan had stood with him on the front line, leading a small army of three hundred Aurors against two thousands of Gellert's own armies. Their chance to win was small, but Eileen and Yuu-chan were excellent fighters. Together, they wiped out almost half of Gellert's armies.

Albus finally understood why she was feared by most of the Magical Ministries around the world. Come and threaten the people she loved or considered as 'family' and you'd get a monster out of her usual kind self.

When finally they won and Albus had defeated Gellert, the British Ministry had finally 'acknowledged' Eileen as a 'human being' and gave her an Order of Merlin First Class. They still acted like Yuu-chan didn't exist though and didn't recognize his heroic deed in helping Britain fending off an invasion from a Dark Wizard when he was 'only' a muggle, when they—a fully capable wizards—hide behind their mama's back hoping that those who fought in the front line came out victorious.

They _were_ consisting mostly of stuck-up purebloods so it was expected of them not to recognize a muggle, but it annoyed Eileen to no end even though her husband did not care for such things. After she had gone to the British Ministry of Magic alone to 'straighten' them up, they wrote a formal apology to Yuu-chan and gave him an Order of Merlin Second Class. Not that it mattered to Yuu-chan whether he got an award or not, it was just a self satisfaction for Eileen to see those arrogant wizards falling all over themselves in fear of being a receiving end of 'The Earl's' wrath.

Those were such wonderful times that he'd love to experience again, he mused. Though life was not perfect, they were all happy, and… content. It was sad for him to part with them in the late March of 1959 when the wonderful news of Eileen finally conceiving a child reached his ears. He was so happy though when Eileen asked him to be the godfather of her child.

Now, the fact that Yuu-chan had passed on made him aware of how old he was now and how many years have passed since that time. He had missed the older man's witty comeback and snarky comment already, even though only a day had passed since his death. Yuu-chan was an wonderful person and he had learned many from the man. He could not imagine what Eileen was feeling right now though… to lose someone who were always there with you for one hundred and seventy seven years…

With a sigh, he stepped into a large white room with a large white bed on the right side of the room, a white sofa just across the bed, and a white piano at the corner. It used to be her and Yuu-chan's room… but now it was only hers. He walked towards the bed and laid Eileen in the middle of it, her long snowy hair spreading beneath her like some kind of halo. Her beautiful long black gown would be ruined if she slept with them, but as a gentleman he couldn't change her clothing without permission, so he ignored them and laid a piece of white blanket over her body.

"Sleep, my friend… this world had been too cruel for you today." He sighed, and for once, his face was showing his proper age. "Sleep now… and I pray when you wake up later, a smile will be on your face once again…"

He smiled sadly. "A radiant smile… just like you used to give to him."

He turned around and left her to find her 'sister'. As he was turning off the light that previously illuminated the large room, he did not see the lone tear track that fell down one side of her face.

"Good night, my friend…"

And then she slipped into a world of illusions…

…

…

**So that's the end of chapter two! What do you think? Although it was too much description and too few dialogues, I think it was not too bad… sorry for any grammatical errors again! I don't know how you get a beta. I'm still new here!**

**Before you asked, Slughorn only teach NEWTs classes for Sixth and Seventh Years in my story as I wanted Eileen to be the Potions Professor here. Eileen started working at Hogwarts on 1939, which is Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort's second year at Hogwarts. **

**In here, Eileen is born on 1802 and Kanda is born on 1800, while Dumbledore is on 1881. So when they first met in 1939, Albus is 58 years old, but looking like he was forty; Eileen is 137 years old, looking like her 16 years old self; while Kanda is 139 years old looking like a fifty-something years old man. The reason why they age slowly: Dumbledore because he is a wizard with longer lifespan, Eileen because of her 'Noahs', and Kanda because of his regenerating ability so his body aged slower and why he lived longer than a normal muggle. Oh, and I knew that Grindelwald never tried to take power in Britain because of Dumbledore in canon, but this is a fanfiction… so… hope this clears things up a bit.**

**These first few chapters may appear a bit boring to some of you because it would contain a bit of flashbacks like the one in this chapter. **

**Next chapter: "The Reason She Became a Demon."**

**Thank you for reading!**

—**Adriane.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the responses! You gave me the inspiration to keep working on this story! But before the actual chapter here I wish to apologize to ****Aliinna, ****Niki-Uni, ****Dune****, ****sunfeil****, ****YellowWomanontheBrink****, ****Shaybo27,**** and ****Rigoudon3**** for not being able to reply your reviews! I was very busy with school and the National Exam preparation, and then on top of that I broke my right wrist. By the way since my wrist had healed last Friday, I had been rushing in writing this chapter for you. I'm sorry if it seemed a bit sloppy, I didn't have much time writing it!**

**Now I want to answer a question that one of you asked: yes, Eileen and Kanda's child will appear quite a lot in this story. Well… that's if you can figure out who is it though! ^^ I've thrown so many hints here and there and this chapter hold a major clue about (his/her) identity.**

**So here's chapter two for all of you. I had to remind you though this story is AU for the -Man's storyline. It used the same plot up to chapter 200 but the characters' personality and actions will have differences from the canon. This chapter may seem a bit confusing to some of you, but read on anyway! It's necessary. You'll understand some things along the way.**

**Happy reading! Don't forget to tell me if you can figure out who her child is!**

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**Chapter Two,**

**The Reason She Became a Demon.**

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…

"_L-Lavi?" Eileen stuttered, calling the name of the man she loved when she saw him packing some necessary things inside his small traveling luggage. "Are you going already? Didn't you just coming back yesterday?" she asked._

_Lavi nodded tiredly. "Yes, there are some things that need to be recorded in Scotland. Gramps and I will be leaving later tonight." He answered, then groaned when a stack of papers fell on him and the floor when he accidentally jab it with his elbows. Eileen panicked and helped him collect the papers back, before handing it to the relieved redhead._

"_Thanks, you really helped me! Gramps will beat me if I messed with his documents again," he said cheerfully, despite his obvious tiredness. Eileen just kneeled beside him in silent, it was clear to Lavi that she was nervous about something._

"_Eileen?" the crimson haired young man called her name, uncertain as to what she could possibly want from him. Eileen kept her gaze to the ground below her knees, as she felt heat began to creep up to her cheeks. Lavi eyed her fidgeting and blushing for a few seconds, before a small but genuine smile tugged at his lips. _

_She was so obvious, but that honesty was what he liked about her. He abandoned his luggage and put aside the stack of document's the Bookman owned, and wrapped his arms around her._

"_I'll be back soon, I promise." He whispered to her left ear, before he kissed her cheek chastely._

_She smiled at him, and despite her embarrassment at being so close when they were not a married couple, she kissed his lips in return._

"_Be safe."_

…

"_I will not allow Noah, or the Church to get in the way any longer!" she said firmly, deeply wishing from the bottom of her heart that the Ark would get Kanda and Alma to Matel safely. After everything the Church and the Earl had done to the both of them, they deserved happiness more than anyone else._

"_Eileen Walker!" High Inspector Lvellie shouted at her, his voice grating at her nerves. "This is a serious betrayal. Do you have any idea what you're doing?"_

'_Shut up.' She thought as she readied her Exorcism Sword._

"_How could you let both Alma Karma and Kanda Yuu escape?" the vile man continued, "Unless you destroy Alma Karma, the rampage of the Third Exorcist will never cease!"_

'_Shut up,' _

"_There are lives before your eyes that could be saved, do you really intend to destroy the Third Exorcist project?" _

'_SHUT UP!' _

_She ignored the man and leapt up to slash the monster Tokusa had become. She really didn't want to do this, but… but she wanted to do something for Kanda and Alma._

"…_then YOU ARE NO LONGER AN EXORCIST!"_

_She didn't care._

…

"_No! No you've got it wrong! She's not a traitor! She's not!" Lavi screamed and yelled and struggled against the bastard Lvellie's men who tried to hold him down. They were taking Eileen somewhere and from what Lavi knew wherever it was they were taking her to was not a good place._

_Lenalee was one of the few people who could verify that as one of the survivors that had been subjected to the Church's cruelty. The Asian girl was now running to find her brother from the infirmary to get him to help Eileen._

_Eileen could only look behind her back as the Inspector Lvellie dragged her forcibly to the direction of the prison in the west tower of the new Headquarter. Now, the Headquarter was not a place she could call home anymore. All the warmth she had received from the scientists, Founders, and fellow Exorcists when she first joined the Black Order was gone now. Now she understood why Master Cross did not like to go back here. He must have known this side of the Church long before._

_Lavi kept struggling under the binding seal that the Crows inflicted on him, but no matter how strong he was, he was nothing under the magic those damned people possessed. Komui and Lenalee had arrived along with Johnny, Reever, Lujun and Cash, but they were too being held back._

_In the end, Eileen could only look at them in the face and smiled apologetically._

"_Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."_

…

"_Road! Tyki, wait! Road is…!" Eileen screamed, worried at the younger looking girl who suddenly fainted after the girl covered her from an attack from the _thing _that claimed to be the Apocryphos. She won't wake up and they had to get out of there fast!_

"_Leave her there, girl. It's not her real body." Tyki Mikk grunted as he wrapped his palm around her wrist and pulled her away from where Road was lying on the ground, with Timcanpy fluttering above the younger looking girl's head in a manner of panic induced worry. They started running again, with Eileen looking back every now and then in the directions of Road's limp body, which had began to disintegrate into snow-like particles. Tyki was grunting as his broken left arm tried to repair itself even as they run, making it even more painful for the gray-skinned man._

"_Are you okay?" Eileen asked hesitantly. The last time they met, they were enemies, but now he was helping her. She was confused._

"_Yeah, fine. Just a broken arm." Tyki grunted his answer. "A day of rest and it'll mend itself just fine."_

_She was about to open her mouth again when a green light zoomed towards them and hit the tree in front of them, making it explodes into a thousand of splinters._

_The Apocryphos had caught up with them._

…

"_I know you had to get out of here fast, but Eileen Walker, when this war ends, would you marry me?" Lavi asked her, his single green eye shining with hope despite his lack of breath from having to chase her across the entire forest on foot, and in his hand was a ring made of flower that he just picked from the ground a moment ago._

_Eileen could only stared at him in shock, not expecting her boyfriend to propose to her at a time like that. "What…? Lavi, I…"_

"_Say yes, Eileen." Lenalee said to her with a smile. "Just say yes." Before you ran out of time._

"_Y-yes. Yes I would." She finally breathed out. Lavi beamed and slid the slightly oversized ring onto her finger. She couldn't contain her tears when she saw the ring on her finger. It was not a dream, it really happened. She pulled him into a kiss to express to him just how much she loved him._

"_Come back alive, please," the redhead breathed out when the kiss had ended. Lenalee was wiping her eyes with her palm, feeling happy for her two best friends. Eileen nodded to him, a small sad smile on her lips. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want, but she had to._

"_I love you, Lavi." She whispered as the Gate finished forming behind her. "Take care of Lenalee and the others okay?"_

_She jumped, disappearing beyond the white lights the Gate emitted._

…

"_I'm sorry for imposing on you like this, Mother…" Eileen started, feeling immensely guilty that not only she had lost Tyki somewhere in the woods, she had to leave Lenalee, Lavi, and the others to fend for themselves alone, and now she had to seek protection in Mother's little church, putting her and Baba in danger because of her being called a traitor by the Order._

_Mother snorted at her as she motioned for Baba to serve tea for the three of them. "Stupid girl. If I thought you were imposing, you wouldn't be here right now," she said. Though her words were harsh, the old lady's eyes were radiating gentleness. It was a rare sight for Eileen these days. Everyone seemed so cold and unforgiving just because she hosted the Memory of the Fourteenth Noah._

"_Thank you," she said back to the two of them. To them who had bestowed upon her kindness more than she could ever repay them, she could only give them a smile in return._

…

"_For the crime of consciously assisting and housing a traitor of the organization, the punishment for the guilty are…" the man in the Order's uniform began, Eileen's heart quickly sunk to her stomach when she realized that that declaration was anything but good. _

"…_execution." He finished, and the moment Eileen heard the word, her mind began to race and her blood become cold with fear. Not for herself, but for Mother and Baba's lives._

"_Run! Run; Mother, Baba!" she screamed at the old lady and the older man she had come to love as her family during her many stays with them. Her blood was rushing through her veins and in her panicked state she activated her Innocence and started attacking left and right, only to froze a moment later when Mother's blood spattered her across the face._

_A Crow was holding his hand in front of her. A bloodied knife was in his hand._

_Eileen's eyes flashed golden, her skin taking an ashen color._

"_Bastard…!"_

…

_Eileen ran as fast as she could. The Church had sent General Winters and a hoard of Crows after her, and even though she could defeat all those Crows, she was no match against the sadistic general. He was simply too strong for her._

_A crash sounded behind her, signaling her that the general had caught up with her._

"_Damn it. Damn it!" she cried in her desperation. Out of nowhere, two familiar voices called out to her._

"_EILEEN!" Eileen knew that voice. It was Road's voice. "I will open a door for you! Tyki will distract the Exorcist, so you get in quick with him when it's finished, okay?"_

"_Road?" Eileen breathed out, "Where are you?"_

_Sounds of battle reached her ears, telling her that Tyki had arrived at the scene and was now battling the general to buy Road some time till her Door finished constructing itself._

_Just a few seconds left…_

"_Now, Tyki!" Road shouted at them. The moment the Door opened, Tyki leapt up and dragged Eileen with him inside it._

…

"_Why are you helping me?" Eileen asked the two older Noahs before her._

"_Personal reasons really." Road answered. "We need your help, Eileen."_

…

"_The Earl, you see, was in love with Neah Walker." Tyki began. Eileen choked violently on her drink, before he sent an unbelieving gaze at Tyki. _

"_What? I'm not lying!" He protested, rather indignantly, making Road giggle despite the seriousness of the situation. "He's not lying, Eileen."_

_Eileen gulped. "It's just hard to imagine that… that—that Marshmallow Ball is…"_

_Road fell onto a round of uncontrollable laughter, even Tyki's expression melted in the moment of hilarity. "You've never seen it before, but the Earl had a human form. A rather handsome middle aged man, if you ask my opinion. The 'Marshmallow Ball' face is just his 'working' attire." Road explained after her laughter had subsided. "His mind's completely deranged though."_

"_Anyway," Tyki cleared his voice, "The Earl fell in love with Neah and made a new Memory just for him. Originally there were only twelve Memories to begin with, including the Earl, but because he was afraid that Neah would die first and leave him, he made a new Memory and planted it inside Neah's mind. He even gave the Ark as a present for Neah."_

_Realization dawned in Eileen's mind. "…but Neah resented him for that." She breathed out._

"_Yeah." Tyki smiled ironically at her. "He never reciprocated the Earl's feeling, but the Earl threatened to kill his brother if Neah refused his affection. Wanting to protect his brother, he gave in to the Earl's demand and let him use his body as he pleased."_

_Eileen gasped. "That's horrible…"_

"_Neah hated the Earl though and couldn't stand the man touching his body like that. He snapped one day after the Earl used him again, fed up with his life as the Earl's toy. He schemed to kill the Earl, and sent his brother away with the Ark that the Earl gave him, hiding him from even the Earl himself. He realized that he needed more power to be able to kill the Earl, so he came up with a plan, but a plan that he knew he could not do alone. It was around that time that Neah found out that we too had grown tired of his game and introduced us to his plan." Road continued where Tyki left off. "He asked us to help him kill the Earl so that he could draw all the other Memories into himself and break the cycle of reincarnation of the Noah Genes, because he was afraid that the Earl would come back to get him again." _

_Tyki inhaled his cigar with a shaky breath. "But we realized that there's no way he could control all those Memories by himself. The rage will took control of his mind if he do so, so he came up with the idea of using Road's Dream to imprison the other Memories to them at bay. That way, as long as he lives on, the Cycle will end. We got what we wanted and he got what he wanted. It's a fair trade, but he got himself killed before he could do so." _

_Eileen's eyes grew wide as more minutes passed and she heard even more shocking revelations as the seconds ticked by. But then she noticed something that Tyki said and stared at him in question. "What you wanted…?"_

"_We were tired of living like this. Dying and reincarnating over and over again in an endless cycle." Tyki answered as he sipped his wine, the cigar between his fingers now. "We have lived for so long… we want to be free." _

_Honestly Eileen didn't know how to respond to that answer. "But… how…? Is that even possible to do that? Both the gathering Memories into a single person and… the Dream Prison?"_

_Road and Tyki both nodded to her question, but it was Road who answered her. "It is possible. The power of the Millennium Earl is Creation. He controlled the Memories. He is the key to end all of this. And the prison…"_

_Tyki looked away, but Eileen had seen the anguish and regret in his eyes before he hid them behind the shadows from his hair. _

_Realization dawned in Eileen's mind. She finally understood why Tyki looked that way._

"_But then…" her voice trembled as the reality of the situation sank into her mind, "…you wouldn't be able to be free too…"_

…

_Crimson colored liquid was seeping to the ground beneath her feet. A man was standing in front of her, blurring her vision a bit from how close he was standing. Her eyes slowly focused on his chest. A blood red arm was piercing it through the black coat that was the symbol of the Black Order's Exorcists. Warm green eye was staring down at her, with love and relieve on his face._

"_Thank… goodness," he said. She stared as blood started flowing from his mouth, then suddenly he coughed violently, spattering bloods everywhere. Some of it hit her in the face, staining her snow white hair red. He moved weakly, stepping towards her and then slowly encircling his arms around her. She stared at his back now that it was visible and then with fear she realized that the arm that was piercing his chest was her own._

_He hugged her tightly, before suddenly he went weak and fell to the ground, her arm slipping from his chest at the sudden movement. Shock, she could do nothing but stared down at the body lying lifeless on her feet. The man's life force was seeping to the ground now that the hole in his chest was gaping open without her hand to clog the hole. _

_So red… it looks just like his hair._

**Lavi…?**

**Why are you lying there?**

**Get up, it's getting dirty.**

**Lavi?**

"_Eileen…" she recognized that voice. It was Kanda, wasn't it? What did that man want now? She had to wake Lavi up. "Eileen, he's dead. He's dead, Eileen."_

**No, no he wasn't. He was just sleeping.**

"_Eileen…" Kanda draw her into an embrace. She was still, her golden eyes flashing wildly for a second, before they blend out to the usual silver._

"_It's over now," Kanda whispered beside her ear. Something wet slide down her cheeks, and then she remembered everything._

_She had killed the Earl of Millennium, earning her that title for herself. She had used the power of Creation that the Earl possesses and gathered all of the Noah Memories aside the Dream onto herself, just as Tyki, Road, and herself planned long before, and then… then Road had gone to her unending sleep, becoming the seal to lock the Memories awayso they could not control their host's mind._

_But Road's injuries delayed her in her mission and it made the rage from the Memories overtook her mind. She lost herself in a killing rampage. Finders, scientists, even fellow Exorcists all became victims to her insanity._

_And then… Lavi had tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen and…_

"_No…"_

_She began to cry in denial. She didn't want to live anymore knowing that she had killed her fiancé. Her only reason to survive._

"_No… no this can't be…!"_

…

…

Eileen woke up with her hair damp and her cheeks wet. She brought a hand to wipe them, and a bitter smile tugged at her lips. It had been such a long time since she dreamed of the Holy War like this. It seems that Yuu's death affected her more than she thought. It brought back the memories of the deaths and destruction she had caused back then.

There are only a few survivors from the Massacre when she was taken over by the Memories. Beside Road, Yuu, and herself, only Komui, Miranda, her Master, and General Nine had lived on.

After the war her Master had married the former female general, and remained faithful until her death in the age of 47, where he once again disappeared to a place where only God and he himself knew of its existence, while Komui had gone back to China and become a lecturer in a university teaching robotics there and Miranda became a clockmaker back in her hometown.

Everyone grew old and died, leaving her behind. Everyone but Yuu. It broke her heart when it finally dawned on her mind that she would remained like that forever. Yuu too, even though he aged four times slower than normal humans, he still aged. Eileen had been reluctant to get close to him because she was afraid of being left behind, but then she decided to take risk for a moment of happiness with him. It was not until many years later though she decided to do that. Still, Yuu had been very patient and waited until she was ready to love him back.

Some years after they married she found out that Yuu had always been in love with her for over twenty years, ever since they were teenagers—even when he knew she was in love with Lavi back then. Eileen had known that Yuu was an idiot long ago, but she did not know that he was that much of an idiot. But that idiocy was one of the things that had attracted Eileen to him. The hardheaded man could have found himself a nice woman to settle down somewhere to have a bunch of offspring but he chose her instead, even waiting for 21 years for her hand. He really was one of those people who were mean on the outside but were a big softie inside.

A tear escaped her eyes again without her noticing. Eileen missed her husband. She had been married to him for more than one and a half century, and having him missing from her side pained her. She loved him so much that she wanted to die too when he finally blew his last breath. She hoped she could die, but if she die, then it means Road's and the others' sacrifices would be in vain.

Pushing herself into a sitting position, she realized that she was still in her yesterday's mourning gown. She assumed Albus must have been the one to bring and laid her there then, since he was one of the few people she had welcomed to her Ark after all, but Albus was nowhere to be seen. She touched her feet on the ground, and slowly stood up.

Oh that's right; she had left Allen alone yesterday to take care of Road while she was gone. She sighed as she stared at the white piano that adorned her room. Now she felt bad for forgetting him. Maybe Albus was keeping him company though?

With a flick of her hand, the lights turned on.

"Allen…?" she called softly. Her voice was slightly hoarse from all the crying yesterday.

"In here, Mistress." His voice sounded distant, but Eileen knew where he was. Opening the door, she was greeted by the sight of Albus sitting beside Road's body while Allen, her _twin brother_ was preparing a pot of tea to serve for Albus.

"I met this charming young man after you fell asleep." Albus told her. "I didn't know you have a brother, Eileen!" The older-looking-man-that-was-actually-very-much-younger-than-her teased her.

"Of course you don't. That's because I don't have one." Eileen joked back weakly. She walked towards them and sat beside Road's sleeping figure at the bed, being careful not to sat on Road's hair.

Road's physical age was actually fourteen, but she had a late puberty it seems and ended up looking younger than she should have been when she was awake. When sleeping peacefully like this though, she looked older than her actual age. Her hair was long reaching to her ankles and her body was sickly thin from the lack of eating these past few hundred years, but she still possessed the same ethereal beauty as she did like when she was awake.

"Are you okay, Mistress?" Allen asked her, although Eileen knew that her _twin _knew the answer perfectly. She had created Allen with the Bond's ability to separate herself into two separate being to help her take care of Road while she took care of her husband. When she first created Allen, he had been a girl, but Yuu had said that it's confusing and more than a little creepy having two of her in the house, so she used Lust's power to make him a male and gave him the name 'Allen' instead of the original 'Ellen' she had intended for him. In the end he served his purpose as Road's bodyguard and their eager helper. He had taken to calling her mistress too, of all things. It seemed that Eileen's hidden desire to please people had mostly been transferred to Allen.

She nodded to him as she brushed Road's bangs out of her face. "Yes I'm fine Al." Allen smiled at her before he set the teacups and poured it for the three of them.

"Thank you for your help last night Albus. I'm sorry for worrying you." Eileen said after she sipped her tea. "And I'm sorry for leaving you here alone, Al."

Allen shook his head. "No, it's fine. It's me who's sorry for not being able to attend your husband's funeral. I'm sorry, Mistress."

Eileen smiled at him. "It's okay. I'm the one who ask you to be her protector in the first place."

Albus recognized that smile. It was a smile that told him that she was not really fine even though she claimed to be. He sighed. Trust her for closing herself again when she got many problems in her head that needed to be shared with someone else. He swore that someday her emotions were going to explode, and it would not be a pretty sight.

"What are you going to do after this, Eileen?" Albus asked her after a long while of silence as the three of them quietly sipped the teas that Allen had prepared for them.

"I don't know…" She said and took another sip. She still want to mourn for her loss, but if she cried all the time Yuu wouldn't be able to rest in peace, so she tried to stay strong. "Maybe I'll stay here and took care of her like always with Allen."

Albus couldn't let her do that. This woman needed human contact to survive, he knew of this. She, who thrived in the affection of others could never be able to live in isolation inside the Ark like this, not even with Allen by her side.

"Why don't you teach again, Eileen?"

…

Harry Potter sat on his seat on the Gryffindor Table alone, what with Ron and the rest of the House avoiding him and Hermione decided to play safe and decided to stay in between the conflict. He glanced at the Head Table and noticed that the Headmaster was still absent from his seat. Last night when dinner had just been served the Headmaster had left rather abruptly after reading a letter that a golden _snitch—_which came out of nowhere—_spat_ out at him. It seemed very important, though why Snape had stiffened when he saw the snitch had puzzled him.

He wondered when the Headmaster would be back. He was the only companion Harry had this last few days and Harry found himself missing the old professor.

He sighed and pushed a spoonful of food into his mouth. It's going to be a long year…

…

…

**It ended here. It's more than two thousand words longer than the previous one, hoorah! I'm sure you already figured who her child is by now. You have, haven't you? I appreciate reviews and would love to have them if you don't mind writing it! Thank you for reading! Ask any question you might have, I'll do my best to answer them!**

**So yeah Eileen used to be with Lavi before she married Kanda. Surprising, right? Well, not really, but I had already planned it from the start. Sorry if anyone of you didn't like it. And don't ask about the Earl/Neah bit. My friend introduced the pairing and I got hooked…**

**I wish to clarify some things though. Memories here referred to the Noah Memories, while the Cycle is the reincarnation cycle of the Noah Genes. There are only twelve Noah Memories, but Bond (Jasdevi) is being count as two people, so Neah become the Fourteenth instead of The Thirteenth. Church here referred to the Black Order. The scene where Lavi proposed to Eileen was during the Seed of Destruction Arc in the manga, where in there only Lenalee came to see Allen off (before Allen go to Mother's church after Tyki had left).**

**Eileen possesses all Noah powers, but she only chose to make use of some of them. Beside the Musician's power, there's the Bonds' ability to create Allen, Lust and the Pleasure's ability for Allen, and the Demon Eye for herself sometimes when it is necessary. **

**I'm so sorry if this chapter seemed a bit rushed, because I really was rushing when I wrote it. I don't have much time writing it much less editing it and decorating it with pretty words here and there like I did with the previous two chapters. If you spot any mistakes, feel free to point it out!**

**Next chapter: "Song of Dawn's Light."**

—**Adriane.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! It's nice to be here again, and I'm sorry for leaving you for so long! Just right after I finished the dreadful National Exams, College Entrance tests killed me. But I passed! I just hear the announcement at my school yesterday and the teachers said that I got the highest mark in my school for English language, Indonesian language and biology! I'm so happy! My chemistry and physics are very good too, but my math score is a bit disappointing. I studied really hard for that!**

**Now I thank you all for the reviews and positive response from you all; they made me a very happy person! And I want to thank **_**Bloody Rotten Queen**_** once again for the ideas you gave me. I will use it in the future for sure!**

**Now, congratulations to those who could figure out the clues! Don't worry if you can't, since I've decided to reveal the identity of her child in this chapter. I hope that this chapter is satisfying for all of you :)**

**Oh right before I forgot, Tyki's dead. And I changed the chapter's title. Read the ****note**** at the bottom please? **

…

**Chapter Three,**

**Karma.**

…

…

_Severus tugged on his mother's hand as they walked through the various vendors in the muggle market. His mother glanced down at him and smiled at him fondly, but that beautiful smile faltered when she saw the upset expression on her son's face. She pulled him to a corner and knelt in front of him, ignoring the dirt that may dirty her dress. She caressed Severus' cheek, brushing his hair to the side._

"_Why the long face, Severus? Is something bothering you?" she asked him. Severus bit his lower lip and looked down at his feet. Something had haunted his mind for the past few days, but he had never found the courage to voice it to his mother before today._

"_Father… is father going to be alright?" Severus asked hesitantly. His mother looked at him with wide, shocked eyes. "I mean… he's getting sicker everyday… I… I am worried…"_

_He watched as his mother closed her eyes and bowed her head, her tresses of snow white hair following her movements. When she opened her eyes again, Severus saw that it was a little misty and he immediately felt bad. He should have never asked it._

"_Your father will be alright, Severus." She said, pulling him into a hug. "At least… I think for a good couple of years. Maybe until you've grown into an adult, but I won't lie to you. The force keeping him alive until now is weakening. I could do something to tie him longer to this world, but… it won't last."_

_Severus bit down his lip again, feeling his own eyes watering. Seeing this, his mother smiled weakly at him and brushed his tear away. "Don't cry… listen to me, Severus. Humans… humans are meant to be mortal. They cannot live forever. Yes, your father will die someday, as most humans are—you will too, someday—and there's nothing we could do to stop it, but…" she sighed, kissing his forehead lovingly._

"_But… but at least… we could do our best to ensure that he died a happy man, couldn't we? He wouldn't say it out loud, since he is a bit shy," she grinned, "but he loved you very much. Be there for him, stay by his side… then I think… he wouldn't regret anything. Promise me that you'll stay with him, alright?"_

"_Alright… I promise..." Severus whispered, making his mother smiled at him again._

…

"Mother…" he whispered, still not fully awake. He blinked a few times to rid himself of the sleep though when he came to his senses, before he sat up.

"It's a dream, huh…" He muttered. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the dream as much as he could; trying to remember the feel of his mother's fingers brushing his tears away when he cried, and her warmth comforting him when he was distraught… he opened his eyes and caught sight of the abomination branded on his left arm.

"You've made your choice a long time ago, Severus." He told himself, smiling bitterly as he eyed the fading color of the snake crawling out of a skull's mouth. "What are you regretting now?"

He ran his hand through his hair harshly.

"Damn it!"

…

"P-Professor Snape … the-there's a message for you, Sir," a poor second year Hufflepuff stuttered from the doorway, holding out a piece of torn parchment in his hand and offering it for the sour man to take. "It's from the Headmaster."

_Now_ his day is complete, Severus thought as he scowled at the boy. Not only he had to wake up like _that, _the Headmaster just had to bother him this early in the morning. Even though Severus Snape was known for being constantly angry and could get irked by the smallest of things, there's one absolute thing that could absolutely annoyed the man. It was Albus Dumbledore: the man who saved him from being imprisoned, the man who was like a grandfather to him, the man who was his godfather. Anything that the man could want from him after the morning that Timcanpy delivered him a letter from _them_ were sure to be a trouble for him.

"Go back to your class, tell your professor that you're doing errands for the Headmaster," he said after snatching the note from the poor, terrified boy. _Pitiful_, he thought. "Class dismissed, cast a stasis charm on your potions; you will be continuing it on the next meeting," he paused, before deciding that he should torture those lazy Gryffindors a bit more, "And write me an essay consisting of at _least_ ten thousand words about this potion. I want it done by the next meeting."

Groans and moans about how evil he was came from the directions of the Lions, while his Snakes dutifully nodded their head, unlike their indolent rivals. He walked away from the class quickly but gracefully, making his black robes billowed behind him as if being blown by an invisible force. He swooped down the floors and made his way to the seventh floor, to the Headmaster's Office, sourly muttering the password to the gargoyle guarding his door and walked up the stairs.

"You wish to see me, Headmaster?" he asked the old man coolly, keeping his face calm and serene and completely neutral, betraying his curiosity when he saw the Headmaster wearing a blue robe several shade deeper than the midnight sky. It was the darkest color that the Headmaster had—one that had never been worn before today. The man had said that he didn't like it because the color is too dark but had to keep it since it was a gift, but why did he wear it now?

He was met with old, tired blue eyes of the headmaster. The man sighed and took off his glasses, wiping it on his robe. Severus waited until he put it back on his face with an impatient scowl. "Could you _please_ hurry a little, _Headmaster_? Unlike _some others_, I _do_ have a class to teach in about…" he glanced at his pocket watch idly. "_Fifteen minutes_," he stressed out. "And quit using students as your personal owl, they irritates me." He added with a scowl.

The walk to the man's office took some times since he couldn't just _apparate_ there directly. If this took more than five minutes, then he would be late to class. Severus Snape was _never_ late so this had better be quick or he'll hex the Headmaster, godfather or no.

"I told you to call me Albus, Severus," he sighed again. "Sit down; would you like something to drink?"

Grudgingly Severus in front of him sat down on one of the conjured armchairs. "No. Just get straight to the point; what do they want from me this time?" he asked disdainfully.

"No, Severus… they didn't want anything from you, but I'm afraid it's not good news," his godfather began with a sigh. "Yuu-kun—your father passed away…"

…

"Have you heard yet? They said Professor Snape's father died a few days ago." Hermione Granger told one of her best friend, Ronald Weasley, once the food had appeared in the dinner table.

Ron, who was in the process of inhaling his food, choked and started to cough like a dying man. Seeing his friend in trouble, handed him a glass of water, which the redhead snatched immediately. He gulped down the water quickly to soothe his aching throat before he stared at the girl incredulously.

"You're kidding! He actually has parents?" he exclaimed insensitively. Really now, even if the professor was seated far at the Head Table, he could hear him if he shouted it that loud!

Hermione huffed at him. "How do you think he was born then, idiot?"

"You mean you don't know?" the redhead asked, clearly baffled by the idea of his know-it-all friend not knowing something very obvious to him. "He was sent here to torture us—from hell!"

The girl's eye twitched. "And he asked me why I keep calling him an idiot." She muttered.

"Who do you heard it from, anyway?" Ron asked her seriously this time. Hermione stuffed a piece of her dinner in her mouth, carefully chewing it and swallowed it down before she answered the redhead's question.

"The paintings were gossiping about it since lunch time, they keep crying and sobbing and saying how 'The Lady' must be very distressed from his death. Apparently they knew his parents personally." She said. "Who do you think 'The Lady' is? Do you think she's his mother?"

"I don't know," her fiend shrugged. "It's kind of hard to imagine what kind of person his mother is… to give birth to such a vile man…" he shuddered. "Why is the bat still here anyway? His dad just died and he didn't go home to pay his respect?"

Hermione just huffed at him, even though he was wondering about that too. Her wandering mind was brought back though when her redheaded friend opened his mouth again.

"Oh, by the way, have you finished your Transfigurations essay yet, Hermione?"

As they fell into their usual conversations and banter, Severus Snape, who had accidentally overheard their _conversation,_ glowered at them from the head table. Insolent brats! Gossiping about a professor and badmouthing him in public loudly like that, as if he couldn't hear them! He pushed his plate away and drank the wine from his goblet.

"_That is no concern of mine anymore. I have cut all my ties with them years ago; you know this very well, _Headmaster_."_

His eyes hardened and he slammed his goblet down, making the half-giant beside him jumped in surprise and half of the students—who had already heard of the newest gossip and were watching him for some sort of reaction—flinched badly. He glared at his godfather when the man stood up once the tables were cleared of foods.

"Everyone," the Headmaster began, "I want to inform you that there will be a slight alteration to the current Hogwarts curriculum. After some discussion that I had with the Board of Governors several days ago, we agreed that due to the concerning marks that the most of you get in the Potions subject, another professor will be hired to teach and guide you."

When the Headmaster paused to take a breath, all of the Gryffindors, most of the Hufflepuffs, some of the Ravenclaws, and none of the Slytherins rose from their seats and cheered loudly—with the exceptions of the Slytherins—their faces radiating pure happiness. Severus glowered harder at the headmaster, realizing what the old man was planning.

"SILENCE!" the Headmaster bellowed loudly and waited for a few moments for the rest to quiet down, before he cancelled the charm with a softly spoken _'finite'._

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying, another professor _will_ be hired to teach you, but she will _only_ teach _First until Fifth_ _year_. If you passed your Potions OWLs and wished to continue to take Potions for your NEWTs, then Professor Snape will still be the one teaching you." The Headmaster continued. Seeing his students' spirits deflated, he chuckled a little. "Now, now, Professor Walker is a very good friend of mine and an excellent professor! She used to taught Potions here too from 1939, until she was forced to quit due to her pregnancy in 1959. Fortunately, she agreed to take back her positions here at Hogwarts after I persuaded her for some time. Unfortunately though, I can't introduce her to you tonight since she is still preparing for her stay here."

The Headmaster continued to chat for a few minutes. When his topic began to stray though, Professor McGonagall reminded him with a softly spoken but harsh "Albus!" and the students laughed when the Headmaster blushed. Severus though was far from amused. He clenched his teeth, trying to stop the strings of curses he'd like to flash at his godfather's direction.

He knew what the old man was trying to do, and he won't fall for it.

…

Eileen removed the white gloves on her hands, dropping them on the floor below. She closed her eyes as she breathed in and out, trying to keep her emotions calm and only barely succeeding. Blinking back the wetness in her eyes, she gently took the old sword that belonged to her late husband from its case and held it across her face.

Mugen was still in the perfect condition as it was first made, with the black blade gleamed beautifully in the dim light of the candles on the corners of the room and the aura it gave was still as deadly and dangerous as it used to emit when it was still actively used for destroying "Akuma".

She put on a fighting stance and swung the sword around experimentally. Although it had been such a long time since the last time she handled a sword, her movements were smooth and elegant, almost as if she was dancing. She stopped after a few movements and slid Mugen back into its sheath in one swift motion.

With a sigh she grab a white cloth she'd brought into the room with her earlier and wrapped it around the Innocence before tying it up with her husband's most frequently used hair tie, which is just a small but long strap of a crimson colored cloth.

She held the sword to her chest with closed eyes.

_He's gone._

_He's really gone._

"What am I supposed to do now that you're not here to guide me?" she whispered softly. "Yuu…"

…

On Sunday night Harry headed to the directions of the kitchens since he didn't eat in the Great Hall earlier with the rest of the students, busy practicing the Summoning Charm. It was the twenty-sixth already, Harry thought with a sigh. Three more days until the First Task, and he still hasn't mastered the spell yet. Sure, he could do it, but not perfectly. Out of five tries, only two of his attempts were successful.

Entering the room, Harry found himself entranced by the sight of a young woman with a snow white hair sitting neatly on one of the chairs with a mountain of food in front of her. She seems like she was lost in thought, absentmindedly eating the foods but still looking very prim in doing so. There was a long scar staining the left side of her face but she was still very beautiful if not a bit pale.

She could use a smile though, she looked terribly unhappy.

The young woman finished her mountain of food in less than five minutes. She wiped her lips with a napkin and then reddened when she finally noticed him staring at her from where he stood at the door. It was a very pretty blush, in Harry's opinion. Way prettier than Cho Chang, Harry noted with a blush of his own.

"Oh sorry, I didn't notice you there," she said, her voice soft. "You can sit with me if you want."

And Harry did just that on the chair opposite of the girl. She sent him a small smile and Harry felt his heart beating faster. The girl was even more beautiful with a smile like this.

"Are you one of the Beauxbatons' students? I think I've never seen around you before." He asked a bit nervously, making the girl giggle in amusement. Harry felt his face heating hearing her laugh. It was a gentle and calming sound, a soft and warming tune and Harry found that he quite like it, though he was embarrassed at being laughed at by the beautiful girl.

"No, I'm not one of the Beauxbatons girls." She denied softly.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "You're from Durmstrang then? I was not aware they brought any girl as one of their delegation."

"They didn't," the girl answered vaguely with a small smile. "Lumaa, can you prepare some tea for us please?" she asked a tiny house elf, who nodded at her vigorously and chirped a loud, "Rights away, My Lady!" before scurrying away to make the tea for her.

"So what brings you here, Mr. Potter?" she asked, trying to start a conversation. Harry look surprised that she knew his name even before he had the chance to introduce himself before he slapped himself mentally as he remembered that he _was_ the Boy-Who-Lived, of course she knew of him!

Harry was about to answer her when his stomach growled loudly, startling the girl and some of the house elves. He blushed and then patted his belly. "I'm sure you can interpret what that growl means."

The girl sent him an amused look. "Did you not eat dinner at the Great Hall with the rest of the students earlier?"

"No." Harry said, "I was busy trying to master the Summoning Charm for the First Task."

Lumaa the house elf popped beside her and setting the tea she requested on the table. She asked Harry if he want some, but Harry refused her offer. Before the house elf could leave though, the white haired girl requested her for a simple meal for him. Harry shot her a grateful look, which she returned with a smile.

"While practicing the spell is important, you can't just ignore your need to eat, Mr. Potter. A growing boy like yourself needs all the nutrients you can get." She said before sipping the tea from her cup. "Otherwise you'll be stuck at that height." She teased him.

Harry mock glared at her, but still ate the food when it arrived in front of him. Yes, he was ashamed to admit that he was a few inches shorter than her, but he still has his growth spurt, right? The young woman just shook her head fondly as she got back to her tea Harry was watching her though as he eats. He noted that she was dressed like a muggle from the 18th century, a dark red and black dress that looked a bit heavy, but she looked comfortable wearing it though.

"Why are you wearing a dress like that?" he asked her, his curiosities taking over.

The girl looked confused. "What do you mean, Mr. Potter?"

Harry pointed at her heavy-looking dress. "That dress; wizards and witches usually wear robes right?"

She looked down on her dress in surprise, clearly did not expecting that sort of question from him. "Oh, that… well… I've been wearing this kind of clothing long before I find out about the Magical World, so I am more comfortable with wearing this rather than those robes." She explained, before she let a small laugh escaped her lips. "I used to be expected to wear these kinds of clothing, so I guess the habit stuck?"

Harry nodded to her words, before he realized what she had said before. "Find out about the Magical World? You're a muggleborn then?"

"No, I'm a pureblood. I was raised by a muggle though," the girl explained. "I didn't find out about the Magical World until I stumbled upon the Leaky Cauldron when I was in my late twenties."

Harry's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Your late twenties?" he swallowed his food with difficulty, not believing his ears.

"Hmm…" the girl only hummed as a response, which frustrates Harry to no end. Harry was about to ask her to clarify on the matter, but before he could open his mouth a snitch came out of nowhere and fluttered above the girl's head who smiled at it fondly.

"Tim. Allen's lost again, didn't he?" she asked the golden snitch with an exasperated sigh, though Harry could tell that she was not really upset with this 'Allen' person. Harry saw the snitch bobbed itself, as if it was nodding to answer her question. She smiled at him and got up from her chair with the golden snitch fluttered above her head. "I have to go now. Come see me tomorrow, Mr. Potter, maybe I could help you with that spell you mentioned before. Goodnight."

She was gone before he could say a "Goodnight" back at her.

Harry didn't notice that the golden snitch she owned was the same golden snitch that had _delivered _the letter to the Headmaster a few days ago.

…

Monday morning comes too quickly and Harry was eager to find out about the mysterious new potions professor who will be taking over Snape's place for the next two years until his OWLs. Opening the door though to his new class though, Harry saw the girl from yesterday evening was there in the front of the class, singing softly to herself as she wrote something on the black board.

It was a beautiful melody, and Harry found himself entranced by the beauty of her voice. She continued writing for a few minutes as Harry observed her from the door. When she stopped singing as she finished whatever it is she was writing, Harry opened his mouth to call out to her, but someone knocked onto his back, hissing dangerously at him to move it lest he wanted to be hit again.

Harry glowered at the person—_Malfoy_—and took a seat at the back of the classroom, waiting for the other students to pour inside the class as well.

"Good morning everyone," she said softly in greeting as the last of the students had been seated, a smile on her face. "I am Professor Eileen Walker and I will be teaching you potions making from now on until the time you take your OWLs."

Many jaws dropped at her revelation. Of course, Harry could understand them, as the girl—Professor Walker—looked no more than seventeen! The newly revealed professor didn't notice their reaction though and continued talking, acting like she was used to an occurrence like this.

"Before we begin, I want you to know there are three rules in my class that I expect you to obey no matter what. One, there will be no House affiliation, name callings, and bullying in my class. I don't care if you're a pureblood, half-blood, muggleborn, Slytherin or Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw; once you step in my class you will forget all those things and you will work together as a group. I will not tolerate any kind of prejudice in my class."

Professor Walker eyed the Slytherins and Gryffindors both with challenging eyes daring them to protest, which no one did. Harry saw that Malfoy was scowling at her, but didn't say anything. Once she was sure that no one will protest, she nodded to herself in satisfaction and addressed them once more. "Number two, no sabotaging your fellow classmate's potions. If I caught you doing that, I will take you straight to the Headmaster and let him decide what kind of punishment I should give to you. Three, I want you to ask for help if you have any difficulties understanding the materials I'll be teaching you. Do any of you have questions before we begin?"

When no one raised a hand, she continued, "No? Then as long as you don't break these rules, we'll get along just fine, I think. This year until the end of term we will be covering mainly healing potions, including the Wit-Sharpening Potion, Deflating Draught, Skele-Gro, Burn-healing Paste, Wound-cleaning Potion, and Revive Potion. But for today I want you to grab the ingredients I've wrote in the blackboard from the storage room over there and bring two pieces of each ingredient to your table, because I'm going to evaluate your methods in preparing your potions ingredients. Let's start from Ms. Granger, shall we?"

After she made all of the students to chop, ground, and do things to the ingredients, she frowned at the result that the most of them had. "No wonder you are abysmal at potions then. Out of all of you, only Mr. Malfoy here can do everything correctly. Ten points to Slytherin." Malfoy's chest puffed up with pride from her comment. "You will not be able to get into Potions NEWTs class if you keep this up. Preparing your ingredients is the most important part in potions making, you know. Now, can anyone tell me the reason why?"

Harry had a theory, but he didn't dare to raise his hand, as even Hermione did not raise hers. If Hermione can't answer it, his answer must be wrong as well. Professor Walker, seeing that no one dared to raise their hand, turned to Draco Malfoy again who smirked at the Gryffindors as he answered her questions. "Because when you are preparing magical ingredients incorrectly, you will change the magical property of the ingredients. Using incorrectly prepared ingredients could cause various effects to the potions. It can result in something trivial like lessening the efficacy of the potion, to the more harmful effect like turning what is supposed to be a healing potion into poison."

Professor Walker smiled at him brightly, causing the fourth year Slytherin to blush. "That was a perfect answer Mr. Malfoy, simple and to the point. Another ten points to Slytherin! Now, I will show you how to prepare your ingredients correctly. You may take notes if you wish, but pay attention because after this I will test you again."

The rest of the lessons went smoothly, and by the end of the class, Harry felt like he had learned more in two hours than the last three years with Snape. No offense to Snape, but that man was a terrible teacher. Professor Walker though, she was excellent. Her explanation was easy to understand, and she was patient. She even managed to get _him _and _Neville _get it right. She even rewarded him points when he did it right. If it were Snape, he would rather die than giving the Gryffs their well deserved points.

Harry left the class with a considerably brighter mood than he had ever been these last few days, especially when he remembered the words the new Professor said to him the day before.

"_Come see me tomorrow, Mr. Potter, maybe I could help you with that spell you mentioned before."_

He smiled. As Harry walked the stairs toward the Transfiguration classroom, he heard a very familiar voice arguing a few meters ahead of him.

"She's as bad as Snape!" Ron glowered. "No prejudice my ass! She's clearly favoring the Slyths, especially Malfoy!"

"Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed angrily in a loud voice, causing a few heads to turn to their direction. "How can you say that? She awarded Malfoy the points because he earned it! Besides she rewarded Gryffindor with points too, remember?"

Ron glared at her, and then at Harry who was walking a few feet behind them. "That's because he's _Harry Potter_! Of course she gave him points! Harry Potter gets _everything_, remember?" he retorted sarcastically, using the same tone Hermione used earlier.

Harry glowered back at the back of Ron's head the same time Hermione made a noise of frustration and then proceeded to hit Ron with her thick book in the head. Harry who had heard what Ron had said about Professor Walker and him couldn't help himself but hoped that Hermione will hit him harder; maybe she will also knock some sense into the taller boy's vacant head.

The redhead boy would never understand, he thought glumly. The other boy was the lucky one. Being the Boy-Who-Lived maybe gave him fame—more than what he could handle, but… that title could not bring back his parents. Fame could not raise the dead, fame could not give him the love he desired and deserved, fame could not even get you a _loyal friend_.

Well who cares about them anyway? Harry asked himself. Ignoring the pang of hurt in his chest he continued on his path to Transfiguration class.

Alone.

…

**That's the end of chapter three. Do you find it satisfactory to your tastes? Tell me your opinion! I accept constructive criticism and any ideas or suggestions that you may have for the next chapter too. If you have any questions or you're not clear with some parts of this chapter, just ask, okay? I'll do my best to answer them!**

**And you know I never intended to put a male Allen here at all. I told you my fingers like to type something that's completely out of my control, and Allen is one of the results. Now I'm at loss of what to do with him. Do you think he should have a pairing? I also have this abnormally huge urge to write a separate story about the Earl and Neah. Do you think I should write it now or later after I'm finished with Dearly Beloved? It'll be a one shot though. Hum…**

**Note****: So Eileen Walker = Prince (so Severus is still the Half-Blood Prince because Kanda is a muggle). Since Tobias Snape is not Severus' father, he didn't have the greasy hair, big hook shaped nose, shallow skin and all that. His black hair, black eyes, his body stature, and the shape of his face he got all from Kanda while the pale skin comes from Eileen. Since Kanda and Eileen are both pretty, I imagine he will be pretty too. I will explain later how is his name "Snape", not "Prince" or "Kanda" or "Walker".**

**Next chapter: "Heartbeat."**

—**Adriane.**


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